History: from client side founder to provider of outstanding service

To know the background of founder John Lenser is to understand how and why our firm’s unique client-centric view developed. John founded San Francisco Music Box Company in 1978 and grew it to a substantial multichannel business that encompassed retail and catalog. He successfully sold it in 1989 to Woolworth.

Subsequent years found him as CEO inside well-known catalogs including Gump’s by Mail and Hearthsong. It was that experience that led John to realize that the knowledge he had accumulated, and the talent and appreciation he had for this business was such that his next step would be to start LENSER, a consultancy to clients in the catalog and multichannel world.

In 1997 John began to add highly experienced staff, including circulation and marketing managers and list experts, to become a quality resource for catalog clients to both get consulting and receive day-to-day circulation and marketing services. With both retained and project assignments growing daily, John invited Bill Nicolai in to be a LENSER partner in 2001. Bill’s success in growing and selling three catalogs proved to be invaluable to LENSER clients as he helped them to grow.

In the years following, LENSER added new partners—Geoff Wolf, Al Bessin, Michelle Farabaugh, Larry Marmon and Carol Worthington-Levy, all with substantial industry experience and all able to make significant contributions to the well-being and growth of the increasingly diverse LENSER client base.

Today, LENSER serves over 70 retained clients and a significant number of project clients who seek out services that range from startups and acquisition projects to annual planning and development of new initiatives, in all areas of the business.